We welcome Svetlana Boycheva Woltering to the Zukunftskolleg
Svetlana Boycheva Woltering is one of five new Research Fellows from the 14th call for applications. She has started her fellowship in April and is affiliated with the Department of Biology.
Svetlana received her PhD at the Department of Botany and Plant Biology of the University of Geneva studying the biosynthesis of vitamin B6 in plants followed by a PostDoc on the same topic. She then moved to Plant Insect interactions and Biocontrol at Agroscope Reckenholz, Zurich and later on to Konstanz to study deubiquitinating enzymes and, after obtaining her Humboldt Fellowship started researching autophagy. Throughout her graduate studies and postdoctoral work she has been interested in issues relevant to society such as the effect of the changing environment on plant growth, productivity and consequently people's nutrition.
“My topic at the Zukunftskolleg focuses on a major recycling pathway, autophagy, seeking to unravel its induction, regulation and natural variations” explains Svetlana. “Autophagy has been shown to be directly related to stress resistance. Elucidation of the process in model species will help improve growth and productivity in economically important species.”